In June, when Chen Chong's left army captured Nanchong and Langzhong, Duan Yan on the right also relied on Pan Jun's surrender and massive momentum to first surrender Baishui Pass and then break through Jiameng Pass. The two armies had now completely opened up the Western Han Dynasty. The passage can be echoed through the Western Han River. Since Zhang Liao escaped, the only key places left in Shu County were Zitong and Mianzhu.
However, there is still a dangerous Jianmen gate to the north of Zitong, which is not easy to attack. Jianmen Mountain is also called Dajian Mountain, and thirty miles northeast of it is Xiaojian Mountain. The two mountains are dangerously connected, and the Feige thoroughfare is called Jiange. Among them, there is a small stone gate in Xiaojian Mountain. The passage through the mountain is more than six feet long. It was carved with stone oxen during the Qin Dynasty. Qin Sima Cuo used this road to conquer Shu and became the foundation of Qin's unification. Therefore, the southern section of Shu Road is also called This is the path of the Taurus. Five hundred years later, Duan Yan and Chen Bing could not help but sigh at the thrill of this place. According to Pan Jun's news, the Jianmen defenders numbered less than a thousand. However, relying on the dangerous position of Shimen, Ren Duan Xuan attacked in turns with 20,000 people, but there was no sign of decline.
In desperation, Duan Xuan could only write to Chen Chong to ask for advice. Chen Chong's reply was simple: when I plunder them, they will be defeated.
At this time, Chen Chong had already gone south along the Western Han River. After occupying Anhan, he then marched westward, took the mountain road to Fulishui, and then went up the Shuo River. At this time, the center of Shu was extremely empty. Scholars along the way heard that Chen Chong had marched to Bashu. In the hinterland, Bajun, Hanzhong, defected along the way, and everyone was frightened and frightened, thinking that Liu Fan was dead. Chen Chong only traveled forty miles a day. Every time he passed through a village or pavilion, the county magnates would prepare pots of wine to welcome the king's army. There was no need to attack the city. In just four days, the Han army had marched from Deyang to Pingyang Township, a hundred miles to the northwest is Zitong, and a hundred miles to the southwest is Mianzhu, just like a triangle.
It was already early July. Yin Feng, who was accompanying him, learned that Chen Chong planned to take Zitong first. He was quite puzzled and met him to ask for the secret.
He asked: "Mianzhu is the leader of the enemy, and Zitong is his minion. The close relationship between the two is well known to the world. Now that the two armies of the imperial court have been fully deployed in Shu, it is impossible for the people of Shu not to know the prime minister's arrangements. . When the Prime Minister goes to attack Zitong, he will expose his flank to Mianzhu, and Mianzhu still has some remaining strength. If we send out troops to rescue Zitong and attack from the north and the south, won't our army be in danger?"
Chen Chong smiled lightly and replied: "Zeng Zeng was too worried. We have been stationed in Nanchong for twenty years. If Mianzhu had the intention to make progress, he could send troops to help at that time. If the news was delayed, We should also send troops to Deyang to prevent our army from continuing to advance westward. Until now, we have not sent troops to resist the siege, and when we reach the heart of the country and then want to counterattack, does he think he is Xiang Yu? By this time, the people of the entire Shu region have turned to me. Now, if he fails to rescue Zitong, he will no longer have a foothold. Do you think Liu Zhang dares to take this risk?"
Yin Feng thought about it carefully. If he were Liu Zhang, he probably wouldn't dare. He might as well continue to hide in the city and wait for Liu Fan to come back for help. At least this would be blameless.
Chen Chong said: "Although Liu Zhang has a reputation for benevolence and has some talents in caring for the people, when faced with war, he is still cowardly and without any plan. From my guess, he must not be willing to take risks."
"Then does he have any other strategies?"
"For Liu Jiyu, rescuing Zitong is the last option. The middle option is to order Zitong to withdraw to Mianzhu, retreat to Zicheng, fortify the battlements, and wait for reinforcements. The two legions entered Zicheng and defended the area. It's smaller and there are more people, which is naturally not conducive to our attack on the city, and the morale in the city is also low. However, it takes a lot of courage to abandon Zitong Jiange, and he will never choose it."
"What's the best option?"
"The best strategy is to gather all the remaining troops in Shu and evacuate to Jiangzhou immediately. Although it looks embarrassing, once Liu Fan's main force returns to the division, he will be able to confront our army with an absolute superiority in strength. We will penetrate deep into the enemy's territory. The geography is unfamiliar, and the villagers from all directions will report to the Shu army. When the time comes to decide the outcome of the battle together, we only have a 30% chance of winning. If we fail, I am afraid we will have to flee back to Guanzhong in a hurry."
After setting up camp for a while, Chen Chong led the left route army to continue to advance. Ma Chao's forward cavalry had approached Fu County, searching and advancing along the way, and expelled civilians to repair roads and bridges. Li Hui, the magistrate of Fu County in the Shu Dynasty, detected the actions of the Xifu Army and judged that the Han Army would launch an attack on Zitong in the near future, so he hurriedly sent flying cavalry to report to Mianzhu.
The alarm from Fuxian County reached Mianzhu, but the messenger was blocked outside the palace gate by the guards. It turned out that Zhenwei General Liu Zhang's youngest son was infected with a gas disease and was seeking treatment from a doctor at his residence. He was so distraught that he could not see clearly. Important officials from the Shu Dynasty were also with him, so it was not appropriate to disturb him.
The messenger had galloped for dozens of miles and was sweating profusely. He was facing the scorching sun outside the door and was even more dizzy. After the doctor finished looking and went out, someone presented Li Hui's official letter.
After Liu Zhang finished reading, his expression was not flustered, and he handed the book to Liu Ba, Wu Yi, Zhao Wei and other important officials to read.
After reading it, Liu Ba said: "Zitong just received a letter a few days ago, saying that the sword pavilion is strong and has blocked the enemy. Chen Chong led his army to attack from a pincer. This must be the reason."
Wu Yi said: "But if he sends troops to attack Zitong, isn't he afraid of our troops attacking from the flanks? This is a taboo for military strategists."
Zhao Wei said: "Yes, there is nothing to be afraid of. If Chen Chong dares to come, I will personally lead the troops to attack him. He is not familiar with the place, and even grinding can grind him to death."
Liu Zhang was silent for a long time and said: "There is no need to take risks. We have sent a message to Jiangling. The most important thing now is to keep Mianzhu alive. We will wait for my brother to lead his troops back to the city and then we will see how to deal with it. Now you and I are doing things." , once something goes wrong, how do you explain it to your brother?"
At this point, his face finally showed some signs of losing his composure, and he turned to complain to Zhao Wei, the prefect of Shu County: "Pan Jun and other Chu people cannot be trusted. I have already told my brother bitterly, and that Zhang Lu, They used rice to pretend to be ghosts and confuse the public with their evil words. Sooner or later, they would be in serious trouble, so they should have been taken down early, but my brother never listened. Now that they are fine, they have caused such a big disaster, but they want me to clean up the mess."
When Zhao Wei heard this, he didn't know how to answer, so he could only smile bitterly, but Liu Zhang continued to say coldly: "When Hanzhong was lost, Zhang Liao from Langzhong ran so fast that he fled directly to Jiangzhou, and he still wants us to come with him." Move away. He fears the dragon head as much as the tiger, but treats the country as nothing. How can such an incompetent person deserve to be reused?"
Wu Yi listened to him for a long time and became a little impatient, so he said: "Since the general will not allow Zitong to be rescued, let's implement martial law first, move all the people from the villages outside the city in, and fortify the walls and clear the fields to prevent the thieves. An opportunity to take advantage of.”
This statement hit the mark, and the other ministers agreed. Unexpectedly, Liu Zhang was hesitant at this time, and said to everyone: "When the late king was here, he often said to my brother that when you govern Yizhou, you should be kind to the people. Now We have exhausted all the people's strength to fight against Jingzhou, so how can we destroy the people's homes? Besides, Longshou is a man of good reputation. It is said that he has done nothing wrong all the way. If I do this, wouldn't it be true and make the people's hearts even worse? To him?"
So in the next few days, Wu Yi declared martial law internally and externally, but in fact there were not many substantial defensive measures. Many celebrities in the city agreed. Some people commented privately: "His Highness asked Liu Jiyu to take charge of Mianzhu. It was a foolish move! What's the use of enforcing martial law without relocating the people? It's just a show! When Chen Chong comes, the city will All foreign residents will become accomplices.”
As for Li Hui, who encountered the vanguard of the Han army, Liu Zhang sent a message to him, asking him to hold on to the city and delay the attack. Unexpectedly, just one day after the letter was sent, news of Li Hui's surrender in Fucheng came! And then came the news that Zitong was besieged!
When Liu Zhang heard this, he couldn't help but became furious and discussed with his ministers: "Li Hui betrayed his trust and allowed the imperial court to attack Zitong. The only solution now is to fight vigorously!"
Mianzhu ordered Liu Ba to tell him bluntly: "Your Majesty, I see that Chen Chong is as powerful as breaking bamboo. He is powerful in Shu and Han. Not only the hearts of the people around him, but also the hearts of the soldiers are no longer enough to rely on. Your Majesty, you still want to take advantage of the enemy army before they are surrounded. Let's all go to Jiangzhou!" Liu Zhang just sighed after hearing this. People around him, such as Wu Yi and Zhao Wei, also found it difficult and did not dare to come forward to agree.
After all, Liu Zhang still couldn't make up his mind to give up Mianzhu, so he continued to ask Jiangling for help. At the same time, he issued an order to Dong He and Pang Xi of Nanzhong, asking them to lead the Nanzhong Army and rush south to support them.
After the envoy left, it was night. Liu Zhang continued to take care of his youngest son Liu Yin in the mansion. He felt heartbroken when he saw the child coughing constantly on the couch. He and his wife sat on the couch with him until midnight. After finally waiting for Liu Yin to fall asleep, he exhaustedly put on his robe and went out. He met a man waiting at the door with a sword.
He was startled at first, but when he saw it was his eldest son Liu Xun, he relaxed and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Liu Xun clasped his hands and said, "I see that you are worried about national affairs. Although I am not talented, I am still a man of Yuanfu. I practice martial arts on weekdays just to share your worries for you today. If you don't give up, I am willing to lead everyone to rebel against the imperial court." war!"
When Liu Zhang heard this, he was half pleased and half sad.
Chou said to Liu Xun, "Since you are serious about it, I won't stop you. Now that a disaster is approaching and the city is short of manpower, go and transfer some money and rice from the treasury and go around to recruit villagers."
After watching his son take the order and leave, Liu Zhang felt even more sad. That night, he and Liu Ba went to the Jingyuan Pavilion in the city and looked at the starry sky. He leaned on the railing and sighed: "The guest star is guarding the Yulin. If there are female officials in the country, the battle will be defeated!" Liu Ba saw his courage. Feeling so depressed, he had no choice but to comfort him by saying, "The stars should be in the north, so what does it have to do with us?" Liu Zhang just closed his eyes and shook his head without answering.
He thought in his heart: The former king listened to the words of the qi warriors and said that there was the emperor's qi in Shu, but the emperor's prophecies were so many! I think this is nonsense. What's the point of being an emperor? It's better to surrender to the court as soon as possible, otherwise there would be no disaster today! But he also knew that this was rebellious, so he only dared to think about it in his heart.
Besides, Li Hui surrendered to Chen Chong. After Chen Chong led his troops to surround Zitong, he ordered Yang Fu to lead 4,000 cavalrymen to attack Dajian Mountain in the north.
